


Switch It Up

by icaruslaughed



Series: Suptober20 [13]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Castiel/Dean Winchester First Kiss, Ficlet, Fluff, M/M, Pool & Billiards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:00:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27058375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icaruslaughed/pseuds/icaruslaughed
Summary: day 16 of suptober
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: Suptober20 [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1955047
Comments: 10
Kudos: 31





	Switch It Up

Dean hears footsteps coming down the hall to the game room and immediately rushes to go see who they belong to. Not like he’s hiding anything; he just needs to know if, well...fine, if he has to hide his newest project from Sam. His brother’s birthday is in a few weeks and he wants to do something nice for him, you know? Set him up with a nice place to go relax and all that.

The footsteps, as it turns out, belong to none other than Cas who seems to have a knack for finding him. He doesn’t mind of course, he always enjoys the angel’s company and often finds himself yearning for it, although under no circumstances will he  _ ever _ investigate why, exactly, that is, deciding it best to chalk it up to their friendship and leave it at that.

“Hello, Dean. I was hoping to find you here,” Cas says by way of greeting.

“Hey, buddy. You still down for movie night?” It's become a tradition for them to get together every Thursday night and watch one of the classics because goddamnit, as long as he’s living under Dean’s roof, Cas will  _ not _ live as an uncultured swine. Cas’s attention, however, seems to be held entirely by the newly installed pool table in the middle of the room.

“Actually, maybe we could switch it up tonight? Despite how often I’ve seen you hustle pool, you’ve never once taught me and considering the lives we live, it’s a skill I really should have,” Cas suggests and Dean can hardly find it in himself to argue.

“Sure thing, Cas,” he picks two pool cues off the rack and hands one to Cas as he closes the door, “How about we start with the basics, unless somewhere along the line you managed to learn how to play?” Cas shakes his head, which Dean interprets to mean that he’s right. “Alright, well, first things first: we need music.” Dean fumbles with his phone for a few minutes, shoving it into his back pocket once Led Zeppelin’s  _ Living Loving Maid _ starts playing through hidden speakers.

Cas stands awkwardly next to the table as the song picks up, holding his cue as if it were a spear. “Okay, now that’s done, we really need to work on how you hold that thing. I swear, you look more like you’re gonna stab me than hit a ball.” Taking his own cue in his hand, Dean sets the white ball on the table in front of them. “We’re just going to work on hitting the ball for right now, so watch how I hold it.” He bends over the table, positioning the tip between his thumb and index finger, explaining as he goes. “People brace it in their leading hand differently; this is just how I do it. What really matters is how well you can slide it back and forth.” He shoves the cue forward and hits the ball delicately, letting it roll slowly toward the corner pocket. “S’all about having control over the cue. Go ahead, you try.”

Cas retrieves the ball from the pocket and places it in the center of the table, his trench coat falling in the way when he tries to bend over. Resting the cue on the pool table, he promptly sheds his coat, tossing it over the nearest chair and leaving Dean licking his lower lip subconsciously for reason he does not quite have the time to unpack at the moment. Fuck it, yeah he does: that shit’s hot and he may or may not have a massive crush on Cas. Unfortunately, the gesture does not go unnoticed by Cas, who quirks an eyebrow slightly before schooling his features back to neutrality. 

This time, it  _ must _ be deliberate, the way he bends over the table, holding the cue slightly wrong and...shit, Dean has to fix that, doesn’t he. So he puts a hand in Cas’s arm, trying so hard to remind himself that they’re just a couple of guys being dudes, a guy teaching his angel best friend how to play pool, “Nice start but you’re actually supposed to hold it like this…” Cas has the back of his hand resting on the table, the cue held in his upturned palm and for a second Dean can’t help but wonder what that hand would look like wrapped around his- nope, not going there. No way. Not with Cas right in front of him. 

He sucks in a breath, taking Cas’s hand in his to reposition it properly. “Oh, like that. I see,” Cas sounds almost...flustered, although it could just be disappointment in himself.

“Yeah, now just try to hit it into any pocket. It’s okay if it takes a few tries; you’re just learning anyways.” 

  
  
  


An hour or so later, Dean thinks Cas actually has it down. He’s certainly not good enough to beat him but to be fair, he’s got at least twenty five years of experience under his belt and Cas only just learned. He’s definitely ready for a challenge, though. “You know what? You’re actually not too bad at this. You think you’re ready to play a game against me?”

“Sure, Dean. Do you want to play with stakes?”

He’s going to win no matter what, so why not? “Sounds good to me. What sort of stakes are we talking about here?”

“Winner gets to dare the loser anything they want,” Cas grins. Cocky bastard.

“You seem very sure of yourself, but I’ll take it,” he grins right back, adding a twist of (friendly) competitive malice. Who is he to turn down such a good offer? 

“Good,” is all Cas says, whatever that’s supposed to mean. He sheds his suit jacket and drapes it over his long-forgotten trench, rolling the sleeves of his white button up and loosening his tie. Fucker. Two can play at that game.

The song changes again, the sultry lyrics of  _ Since I’ve Been Loving You _ echoing through the room and Dean almost laughs. It’s a good song, is all he has to say if anyone asks. “If I break, you’re going to lose,” he offers, setting up the balls and stepping out of Cas’s way when he’s finished.

“Thank you, Dean. How considerate of you,” Cas retorts, lining up his shot only to miss by an inch or two. Dean smirks. This should be an easy game.

Hoping to get some form of genuine entertainment out of such an easy game, Dean bends over the table, sticking his ass out slightly more than strictly necessary in the hopes of distracting Cas. “Stripes,” he calls over his shoulder, turning to see what Cas may be thinking only to discover that the fucker had plans of his own. He’s grabbed two beers from the fridge, sipping from one of them and Dean finds  _ himself _ distracted by the column of Cas’s throat as he swallows, the way his lips wrap around the tip of the bottle. He’s so out of his own head that he misses the ball completely. Damnit, Cas.

“I suppose I’m solids, then?” Cas hands Dean the other bottle of beer, setting his own aside and picking up the cue he leaned against the side of the pool table earlier. Dean does his best to be just as much of a tease as Cas was to him. He thinks he’s good enough that he expects Cas to botch his next shot nearly as badly as he did the break, but he somehow manages to make it into the side pocket. He doesn’t miss the next shot, either. Beginner’s luck. He keeps...not missing shots but it’s not until he says, “8-ball, corner pocket,” that Dean realises what happened.

“Asshole conned me,” he mutters.

“Well, looks like you owe me a dare.”

“Where the hell did you learn how to do that?”

“It’s...complicated. The simplest way to put it is: I know everything, including how to play pool, and my grace sort of handles the whole ‘knowing does not equal doing’ part.”

“You...you conned me!”

“Yes, I did. You’re always doing it to other people, so I don’t know why it should be a problem that I decided to switch things up,” he steps closer. “What do you intend to do about it, anyways?”

“You- you distracted me! That’s not fair!”

“Of course it’s fair. As I recall, you attempted—and almost succeeded—to do the same to me.”

So Cas really was… Interesting. “So then, what’s that dare you mentioned earlier?”

“Kiss me.” Dean has to admit, the guy’s got balls. “Only if, if you want to I- you know I’m not very good with human social cues.”

Dean must have balls too, because he doesn’t immediately walk away. “I want to.” He cups either side of Cas’s face, and gets on with doing what he’s wanted to do for years. And boy does it make losing worth it.


End file.
